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Maria James

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Assistant Account Executive, Social Marketing
Washington, D.C.
Posts: 1

Maria brings a broad range of skills in communications to Ogilvy Washington (Ogilvy). As a former journalist and freelance writer for national, local and regional publications such as The Virginian Pilot, Richmond Magazine and UPSCALE magazine, she has a strong background in media relations, research, community outreach, and social media.

At Ogilvy, Maria works on a variety of accounts, including Merck, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the CDC’s Inside Knowledge campaign.

Prior to working at Ogilvy, Maria managed the social marketing accounts at Equals Three Communications, Inc. As an account coordinator, she provided administrative support for campaigns and research for clients such as NeighborWorks America, the National Academy of Public Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
 
In April 2009, Maria was selected as a media analyst intern for StrategyOne, the research consultancy owned by Edelman. For six months, she worked as a part of a client-focused team to produce qualitative data and daily media monitoring for a variety of clients such as Microsoft, SunTrust, Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks and Scotts. She also uses her communications skills as a volunteer with a number of health-related non-profit organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, American Diabetes Association and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Union University and a master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an active member of Washington Women in PR and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Deadly Silence: Black women and Breast Cancer

Mar 29

Category: Health, Social Marketing

For the past few weeks I’ve been following the ongoing feature published in The Washington Post called Black Women in America, which stems from a new nation-wide survey by the Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation that paints an interesting portrait of the lives of Black women. The survey includes interviews with more than 800 women and covers topics such as body image, personal finance, discrimination and overall happiness.  Last week’s article, “Breast cancer toll among black women fed in part by fear, silence” really stopped me in my tracks.

According to the article, Black women are less likely than women of other ethnicities to get breast cancer, but are more likely to die from it.  Death rates are 41 percent higher among African American women than among white women.

A separate study published last Wednesday in the International Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Detection and Prevention compared mortality rates of black and white women in the nation’s 25 largest cities. The study found nearly five black women die per day from breast cancer.

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